Justin Gregory Koschitzke (born 20 September 1982) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

. He played 200 games and kicked 247 goals for the club between 2001 and 2013. Hailing from the small town of

Brocklesby, New South Wales Brocklesby is a town in the Riverina region of south west New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Greater Hume Shire Council local government area, north-west of the regional centre of Albury. In the Brocklesby had a population of 238. ...

, Koschitzke was taken with the second overall pick in the 2000 AFL National Draft. He debuted in round three of the 2001 season and then played every game for the rest of the year, subsequently winning the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

award. Standing tall, Koschitzke generally played either as a ruckman or as a key-position forward. A number of his seasons were shortened by injury, especially early in his career. Koschitzke kicked a career-best 48 goals during the 2009 season, including one in the grand final loss to

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. He also played in the two 2010 grand finals against Collingwood.

Career overview

Recruited in the 2000 AFL Draft at pick number two, there were high expectations on Koschitzke from a young age. His athletic 197 cm build and strong marking were a great asset to the

, which drafted him and gave him his AFL debut early in 2001. He made an immediate impact and, in a debut year where he played 20 games, he won the

award. In 2002 Koschitzke played just four games in an injury-riddled season. His quad and

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...

continued to cause him trouble into 2003 and 2004 when he missed five and eight games respectively. Koschitske played in St Kilda’s 2004 AFL Wizard Home Loans Cup winning side - St Kilda's second pre-season cup win. In 2005, another injury-affected season, Koschitzke played sporadically until he made a return in Round 14 against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

. In a best-on-ground performance he picked up 19 disposals and kicked three goals. His form continued when he kicked 16 goals over the next four games, but injury struck again after Round 21, causing him to miss the

finals series Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Koschitzke is considered a versatile

key position Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

player who can play at

centre half-forward In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a centre half-back. Royce Hart of the Richmond Football Club and Wayne Carey of the North Melbourne ...

and centre half-back, as well as a ruckman.

2006 season

In 2006 Koschitzke suffered further injury problems, first missing Rounds 1–3 with a minor knee injury and then missing

Round 5 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the numbe ...

with a

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

injury. After being a surprise inclusion for Round 6 against the Bulldogs, he was knocked out by

Daniel Giansiracusa Daniel Giansiracusa (born 11 March 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He had been used in various positions such as the midfield, half back flanks and ha ...

with a legal hip and shoulder. He was diagnosed with a

fractured skull A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of t ...

and was expected to miss four to six weeks. But four weeks later he had not regained hearing in one ear and, for future health concerns, was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Coach Grant Thomas later said that if he did return to play in 2007, it would be an unexpected bonus. On 18 June 2006, Koschitzke collapsed while appearing on a live television spot for Channel Seven's program Sportsworld while being interviewed by David Schwarz. He was released from hospital later in the day after scans found nothing abnormal. St Kilda staff put the faint down to a number of factors including, fatigue, dehydration and a minor virus. There was no direct connection with his original injury and the collapse.

2007 season

Koschitzke played 19 games in 2007, both in the forward line and the ruck, kicking 26 goals (season high four goals twice) and getting 155 hit outs (season high 21) and 116 marks (season high 10 twice). After significant time in the ruck, more of a forward role beckoned for Koschitzke after

Fraser Gehrig Fraser Gehrig (born 3 March 1976) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL) . Gehrig was a versatile player during his AFL career, begi ...

announced his retirement.

2008 season

Koschitske was captain in St Kilda’s

2008 NAB Cup The 2008 NAB Cup was the Australian Football League pre-season competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2008 season began. It culminated with the Grand Final played on 8 March 2008 at AAMI Stadium in which St ...

winning side - St Kilda's third pre-season cup win.

2009 season

Koschitske played in 20 of 22 matches in the 2009 AFL premiership season in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the 2009 finals series, winning the club’s third minor premiership. Koschitzke had one of his most consistent seasons in 2009 playing mainly at full-forward. He contributed to the Saints making the 2009 AFL grand final and polled well in the Brownlow Medal, finishing equal 11th. St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. Koschitske played in the grand final in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points.

2010 season

Koschitzke played 21 games in 2010, including four final matches, and kicked 30 goals. As of the end of the 2010 season, Koschitzke had played in 14 finals matches, including three grand finals.

2013 season

In the round five match against the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

, played at the

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Koschitzke kicked the first goal of the game and thus made history as the first player in AFL history to score a goal outside Australia. Koschitzke retired at the end of 2013 after an injury-riddled season. He was given a farewell match against

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in round 23, when St Kilda had already been knocked out of finals contention. This brought him up to the significant milestone of 200 total senior games.

Personal life

Koschitzke hails from the small country town of

in the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

region, where his family has run a farm since 1922. He married his long-time partner, Alicia Hampton, in January 2012 and together they have a son.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koschitzke, Justin 1982 births Living people St Kilda Football Club players AFL Rising Star winners Australian people of Polish descent Murray Bushrangers players Sandringham Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Albury